


to become domestic

by emblem_oracle



Series: Fictober 2016 [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Fictober 2016, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Modern AU, Picnics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-23 06:49:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8318014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emblem_oracle/pseuds/emblem_oracle
Summary: Prompt: Domestic// Ike asks Soren to marry him. Modern AU.Fictober 2016 entry. Week Two Submission.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very late entry for week two. Whoops. 
> 
> I was originally going to put all my Fictober entries in the same story but since they are all so different from each other, I made a collection instead. This story doesn't really fit the theme but oh well!
> 
> Hope you all enjoy the fluff :3

Deciding to ask Soren to marry him had been a long time coming.

Almost six years had passed since they'd originally gotten together. Getting around to taking the next step had, perhaps, taken an unreasonable amount of time.

However, there were numerous reasons for this:

Firstly, Ike had a bit of a commitment problem. He wasn't the type to cheat nor did the idea of commitment scare him. It was more that he _took on_ a lot of commitments. He had been a soldier in the military for several years, after all, and he had been on three tours and fully intended to go on another. The idea of bogging someone down with these responsibilities when they did not want them was something Ike felt strongly against.

Soren, however, not only accepted his responsibilities but _helped him_ with them. He had undergone several months of training to join him on his second and third tours. So, this excuse didn't really hold water.

Secondly, Ike wasn't very quick to make advances in the relationship, anyway. It had taken them nearly nine years to get together. After that, it was nearly six months before they kissed and well over a year before they shared a bed for the first time. Progress was slow for them. Romance was foreign land and knowing what each of them wanted was a challenge.

But, perhaps the biggest reason of all…

Ike just wasn't sure how to go about asking.

In the films Mist watched on TV, there were usually thought out speeches, hugs and smiles. It all seemed so dramatic in those movies.

Love seemed dramatic in those movies.

When he'd asked his little sister about how to go about the whole thing, it was almost like he was acting them out in real time. Her face had lit up, eyes widening and glimmering in the lamp light.

"Goddess, really?!" Mist had grinned, clutching his shoulders and shaking him once. "You and Soren? Married? Jeez, it's about time!"

"Uh," Ike blinked. She seemed more enthused about the idea than even he did.

His sister clapped her hands. "Wow, if you had taken any longer I would have given up on my dream of becoming an aunt."

"I'm not asking him if he wants to adopt, Mist."

"Details, details."

Mist hadn't been much help, in the end. She had just spouted some sappy nonsense between high pitched squeals. Advice he himself had gathered from her romance dramas.

In the end, he just decided to wing it.

* * *

 

_Soren's hand felt soft in his own. It was smooth ad pale and would have seemed almost like porcelain were it not for the scars. The scars from a bad time in his history._

_From a time before him._

A hillside picnic had seemed more romantic in his head.

The hill was perhaps a little too steep to tackle after work and Ike found himself wiping sweat from his forehead in regular intervals. The sun was still high (even though it was 6:43 pm) and the light brought with it dragon flies and mosquitoes. Soren waved at the pests as they circled around him.

"Ike, where are we going?"

"You'll see."

A mosquito landed on Soren's forearm and he slapped down with his palm before it got away. He swatted the remains onto the grass.

This had all felt _much_ more romantic in his head.

There was an oak tree at the top of the hill, which Ike had set as the destination. The orange glow of evening spilled between the branches and cast them in shadows and sun beams. The air felt cooler in its shade.

The softness of Soren's hand abandoned him.

Soren regarded the tree before realisation sank in and he stilled, his eyes growing unfocused. He was thinking of other things.

Ike wondered if taking Soren to the tree was a bad idea. To the tree which symbolised the start of everything for them.

"Ike, is this…" His voice was quiet. He picked a leaf from a low branch which crumbled between his fingers.

"Yeah," Ike rested his hand on Soren's shoulder. The cloth of his sweater felt itchy against his palm. "Is that okay?"

Soren bit down on his lip and looked away from the branches, letting the pieces of leaf flutter into the air.

"Yes… it's fine. This tree is… it's a happy memory for me." For once, Ike couldn't tell if that was a lie or not.

Ike realised then that he had forgotten the blanket. He supposed he was lucky that Soren wasn't vein. The dampness of the grass whet their calves and left cold stains on the cloth of their clothes.

After getting comfortable, Ike fished into the basket and pulled out the plates.

He had asked Oscar to prepare the food. It would perhaps have seemed more romantic if he had cooked himself, but Ike was inept in the kitchen. Everything he cooked was either underdone or burnt and giving Soren food poisoning was not an appealing thought.

Reaching into the basket again, Ike balanced two wine glasses in one hand while holding a wine bottle in the other. Soren's raised a brow.

"Red wine," Soren's said slowly, lips drawn back into a line. "You still haven't told me what the occasion is."

"After dinner."

The food tasted amazing, as always. It was good to know that Oscar still remained one of the best cooks to ever breathe.

However, Soren seemed more occupied by the leaves which rained down upon them than the food on his plate. In a bizarre sense, Soren seemed oddly at ease with the scene. Ike watched him between bites and Soren himself seemed unaware that he was under observation.

Then, slowly, Soren began to smile and Ike allowed the tension to seep out of his muscles.

With dinner finished, Soren finally looked away from the tree and began patting down his jeans.

"Now, Ike… You said there was a reason you brought me up here."

"I did."

"Then… what is it? It's unlike you to beat around the bush so much."

Ike expected a flush of anxiety, a wave of doubt. Perhaps a small voice to echo warnings in his ear that maybe this was all a bad idea; that things were good as they were and that marriage could change that. That maybe Soren didn't want to wear a ring. That maybe he didn't.

But there was no voice. Only certainty. He felt anticipation instead of the claw of nerves.

He reached into the pocket of his jacket and produced a small black box.

Scarlet eyes widened but Soren remained somewhat composed, considering. Ike clasped the lid and pulled it open, revealing the small hoop. The ring was silver and without decoration; Ike could not afford anything more.

As Soren stared at the ring, Ike rubbed the back of his neck.

"I know it is more romantic to give a speech, but…. That isn't me. I'm not good when it comes to stuff like this."

"Ike…" Soren's voice wavered, only slightly, but it was enough. Soren wrapped his hand around Ike's wrist, the one not holding the ring, and held it within his lap. "Are you sure about this?"

"When do I ever do something I'm not sure about?"

Soren bit down on his lip. "To be weighed down by marriage… You have also been against that. I... was not expecting this to ever happen."

"Honestly, neither was I at the start. Things changed."

The raven-haired man's face contorted in a silent plea. A face that betrayed his every insecurity; the ones he kept buried beneath his scars. The ones he only let Ike spy upon.

A face that asked, ' _Why do you want to marry_ me _?'_

_'Because you make me a person that I never knew I could be. A person better than the blunt, inexperienced child with dead parents, a sister to feed and a country to fight for. You see the person beyond my commitments. You care for the person underneath.'_

"If you don't want to, I'll understand."

Soren nodded slowly, letting Ike's hand fall back to his side. The leaves rained down still. A stray breeze whipped their hair.

"I can't accept or reject you without a proposal."

"Alright." Ike shuffled his position so that he was resting on one knee. The ground dug into his flesh but it did not bother him. Even lowered slightly, he towered over the man at his side.

"Soren… will you marry me?"

There was a small moment where Ike thought Soren was going to reject him. It was only for a tiny second, but it was enough to leave him cold. Gingerly, Soren picked out the ring from the box with a blank expression.

Then he slid it onto a pale, cold finger and a small smirk lined his face.

"Of course, Ike."


End file.
